1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the broad field of containers and within that field the area of containers for wife and cable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The relatively recent reduction in the size of electronic components in systems of all descriptions has increased their portability and with that the need to provide a means to package not only the components but the ancillary and supporting equipment that accompanies the main components. In particular, the cables that connect the components of any system may easily constitute more of a transportation problem than the components themselves. In the sports industry alone, the television cable necessary to wire a stadium for a football game could be measured in miles. Similarly, events like press conferences and court hearings require large quantities of cable. One of the most cable intensive uses of relatively short in length but high in piece count is with the rock and roll band. Each musician has either a microphone or his instrument is wired to an amplifier with enough slack to allow him to move freely about the stage. Cables often extend from the stage to any number of speakers that might surround the audience.
The above are just a few examples of situations where technicians are required to transport cable to a site, prepare the system for the event and then after the event break everything down, repackage and move on to the next job. Experience shows that more often than not, the cable is coiled wrapped and thrown into the back of a van style truck. On occasion the van has hooks on the inside wall panel where at least some of the wire is stored. In any event, the wire is still removed and carried to a site where it is usually deposited on the floor with the other tools and equipment. The cable must then be sorted and organized when it is ready to be installed.
Some U.S. Patents that have been awarded as a result of inventors efforts to solve the problem of transporting and organizing wires and cables include the following: U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,448 issued Sep. 24, 1974 to Hagstrom for a spool and hand grip for winding extension cord. The spool remains part of the cord and contains multiple electrical outlets. U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,702 issued Jan. 6, 1976 to Pichowicz shows a jewelry cabinet in the style of a box containing pegs for hanging jewelry. U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,206 issued Jun. 14, 1977 to Mykleby discloses a protective cover for a spool of cable wire stored in a well known and conventional manner. U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,649 issued Oct. 9, 1984 to Haarbosch for a stowage case for electrical cord where the excess cord is folded and stored in the small container. A storage rack for flexible cord is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,208 granted to Schooley on Aug. 18, 1992.
The prior art described fails to solve the problems of effectively transporting and organizing a number of cables or wires for high use situations.